With the probability of Democratic majority in the house and a possible majority in the Senate, major corporations are circling to gain the advantage with likely freshmen Dems. Had we not been intent on winning, we might have commented on this expected behavior when it began happening. The circling of the lobbyists was outlined today in a a New York Times article: Democrats Get Late Donations From Business, Jeff Zeleny and Aron Pilhofer, Published: October 28, 2006
Though Democratic control of either chamber of Congress is far from certain, the prospect of a power shift is leading interest groups to begin rethinking well-established relationships, with business lobbyists going as far as finding potential Democratic allies in the freshman class -- even if they are still trying to defeat them on the campaign trail -- and preparing to extend an olive branch the morning after the election. -- New York Times
The big question for me is, when the big corporate money starts rolling in, how do the grassroots make sure that the citizens of the United States remain the very special interest of our Democratic congressmen and women?
Kossacks know that the Republican Party is the "Pay to Pay Party" and not the "Family Values Party", but I thought some detailed information to share with confused voters would be helpful for all of us. In that spirit, I would like to introduce the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, an organization that funds and writes legislation for the "Family Values Republicans".
Funded by some of the most conservative foundations, organizations and corporations, including the Scaife Foundation, Tobacco Institute, Sprint / United Telephone Company of Texas, the Church of Scientology, and the National Rifle Association, the organization generates and promotes hundreds of model bills, resolutions, and policy statements every year. ALEC claims that its member legislators introduced more than 3,100 pieces of legislation based on its model bills and resolutions and that more than 450 of them were enacted..
Finally, after all the juvenile bs the Whitehouse has been handing out for the last couple of days we get some truly great news. It looks as though Rove is now past "subject" and on to "target. Truthout posted the following story by Jason Leopold today.
Andrew J. Weaver, Ph.D. submitted an incredibly well documented diary at talk@action about the reasons the Reagan era State Department and current neoconservatives intermingled personnel, money, and efforts with the ostensibly religious Institute on Religion and Democracy. I'm giving DailyKos readers a taste of the work but I strongly suggest that you all read the whole article.
The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), a neoconservative-led Washington "think tank," has relentlessly used unethical propaganda methods to carry out the radical political agenda of a handful of secular benefactors opposed to progressive Christian voice and social action
The National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCCC) represents 36 member communions - encompassing Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican, and African-American traditions - including more than 100,000 local congregations and 45 million persons in the United States. This 55-year-old ecumenical body has been a primary target of an orchestrated attack by determined right-wing ideologues since 1981.
I've been contemptuous of Maureen Dowd since she bitch slapped Dr. Judith Steinberg Dean, Howard Dean's gentle lady, for practicing medicine while her husband was running for president; but I must say, I've gained a new respect for Dowd.
In today's NYT Moe got right down in the mud with Judith Miller and slugged it out. Andrew Cockburn of Counterpunch, commentator for the match describes the event as as operatic,
"...it was as though Maria Callas had suddenly rushed onto the stage and slugged Elizabeth Schwartzkopf."
"I held off (coughing up $49.50) until today when the Times nailed the sale with Dowd's column titled, "Woman of Mass Destruction" and her ominous opening sentence, "I've always liked Judy Miller".
IndyaMedia Is Attempting to put Hurricane Victims In Charge of Their Own Story
Volunteers and Astrodome Resident Families Build Emergency Radio Station
Project Prometheus and Houston IndyMedia is working hard with resident families to get a station running for survivors at the astrodome. Only Astrodome bureacracy is keeping it from being a reality. The FCC already approved the project. The station is up and ready to roll but a Harris County safety official is demanding that volunteers provide 10,000 receivers before they will let the survivors have their voice. Using this low wat radio station, people can stay in contact, find loved ones, and tell their stories. This is something we can support that is totally aligned with our progressive values. Below the flip, see what you can do to support this important effort.
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This is an important time for Tennessee progressives to decide how to deal to the old line corrupt democratic structure in the state. In the past, dems have been stuck with an old structure that left them divided on appropriate strategy for reform. Now the ball has been kicked directly into the gut of the Tennessee Democratic party.
As Mother's Day approaches, I want to honor, by naming, women who shaped the new American nation quietly or dramatically. There is no way I can possibly know who all of them are so i invite you to add the names of those I've left out. I would also encourage others to honor, by naming, our Rebel Mothers from other periods of American history in other diaries. These are the women who help me to stay strong during these times of attack on the heart and spirit of America. We honor them best, not with flowers or parades, but by keeping vibrant the trust passed down to us.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more
Isaiah 2:4
Mary's song - the Magnificat
He has shown strength with his arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
And lifted up the lowly:
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away emtpy.
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. he shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plow shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nations, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under thei own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.
Micah 4:3-4
In the catagory of, "....the more things change, the more they...." there is this passage from the book Gender and Jim Crow, pgs 123-124, by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore. The speaker is white Republican, William E. Clarke. (Of course, it refers to the time when Republicans were the progressive party. At least that much has changed.)
Author Leon Howell, a well respected religious journalist, has written a book for the United Methodists that all serious members of the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopal churches would do well to read several times from cover to cover. Those who are serious about connecting the dots between right wing power brokers and their mechinations also need to read the book.
The BOOK! United Methodism@RISK, A Wake Up Call
In the book, Howell outlines
who is party to this ugly adventure
how the Institute on Religion and Democracy, IRD has organized them to win major victories on key theological and sexuality issues at recent Methodist Church conventions
how they intend to to take over the governing structures of the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches as well.
